Quote:
Originally Posted by chryuop
So what about things like "in the last letter...", "in the last episode...". They are not really in a timeframe, but you are not really sure they are the very last ones (there might be more letters/episodes or there might not). Basically assuming more a meaning of "previous" then actually last as final.
お願いします.
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To say "the
last letter", we don't use 最後 or 最終 in the first place if the correspondence clearly will continue. We say it この前の手紙、前回の手紙.
But if you really mean the "
final letter", then that is 最後の手紙.
Same thing with "the last episode". Unless it's the final episode of a season, we don't use 最後 or 最終. We say it 前回. If it's the final episode, then it's 最終回. How can you be not sure if it's the final episode at least of that season? Isn't that announced? Anyway, it doesn't matter if there is another season. The final of each season is called 最終回. This is the same with the "last train" (最終列車) of the day. It may be the last for that day but trains will be runnng the next day, too.